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Johnny Manziel: ‘I just overslept’

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HOOVER, Ala. — Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel has admittedly thrown himself into the fire of national criticism for his off-the-field actions in the past, and Wednesday at SEC Media Days he got to tell his side of the story in his first public comments since his much-talked-about early departure this past weekend from the Manning Passing Academy.

The Heisman Trophy-winning signal caller was calm and collected in front of cameras, saying the only reason he left camp was because he slept in late and missed a meeting — nothing more, nothing less.

“It’s been a busy summer for me,” said Manziel, who called it a mutual decision between himself and officials at the camp. “I probably bit off more than I can chew in July, been traveling, been going a lot of places. I just overslept. I made a mistake and didn’t wake up in time when I should have.

“That’s pretty much the end of that.”

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Manziel said he was a college kid and going to do what normal college kids do despite his status as the first freshman to win the Heisman.

“I’m still going to live my life to the fullest,” Manziel said.

Manziel, who was to speak further with other media at the Wynfrey Hotel as part of the SEC’s unofficial annual preseason kickoff event, was reported by some websites to have been sent home by Archie Manning from the passing camp for “partying.” But camp officials were adamant those reports were inaccurate when speaking later to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen.

Manziel, for his part, said he was disappointed to leave the camp early and insisted his departure had nothing to do with alcohol or the night prior.

“There’s a lot of rumors out there, a lot of talk,” Manziel said. “I’ve been very eager to get a chance to share my side of the story. I missed a meeting. It wasn’t anything due to the night prior. … It was just simply my phone died, I overslept, I woke up the next morning whenever I did, went and talked to them and it was kind of a mutual decision to get home and get some time to relax.”

Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning told ESPN that he remembered a young Eli Manning missing a meeting at the camp and catching grief for it. Peyton, a 14-year NFL veteran, downplayed the event, saying, “We always have counselors who leave early,” and praised Manziel for his work with the campers while inviting him back next year.

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Manziel said he spoke to his coach, Kevin Sumlin, recently, apologizing for the negative light he put on his program.

“I told him I felt like the deal really got blown out of proportion, and I’m sorry for that, for the way it was spun and the way it was taken out of context,” he said. “I never meant to make A&M look bad, or especially him. Me and Coach Sumlin have such a special relationship and I never would have wanted to upset him.”

The 20-year-old redshirt sophomore has been no stranger to headlines this offseason. He has been in the news for controversial comments on social media, agreeing to a plea deal on misdemeanor charges of failure to properly identify himself to College Station police and reportedly shoving a graduate assistant coach at a spring game in which he threw multiple interceptions.

Manziel told SportsCenter he feels he’s held to a higher standard than most players his age. At this time last year, he was an unknown in most circles outside of Texas A&M, a sprite young quarterback battling Jameill Showers to become the Aggies starter under center. Now, Showers is at UTEP while Manziel is a Heisman Trophy winner with a potential future in the NFL.

“I feel like I am on a little bit higher pedestal than most people in college football,” Manziel said. “But at the same time, I’m still 20 years old, I’m still a sophomore in college, I’m still going to do things that everyone in college does and continue to live my life. Hopefully people don’t hold me to a higher standard than that.”

Manziel, who is the centerpiece of the Aggies program this season under Sumlin, is a frontrunner to claim the Heisman Trophy again this season. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound speedster from Kerrville, Texas, threw for 3,706 yards and rushed for 1,410 more, averaging 7.0 yards on the ground and 12.6 yards per completion last season.

He was the only quarterback in the country to finish in the top 25 in both passing and rushing while ending the season No. 1 in total offense with just shy of 400 yards per game and 47 touchdowns.

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Jadeveon Clowney: QBs scared of me

HOOVER, Ala. — South Carolina defensive end and Heisman Trophy hopeful Jadeveon Clowney said he’s getting more and more comfortable speaking with the media, and it showed on Tuesday when he said Clemson’s Tajh Boyd and three SEC quarterbacks were “scared” to face him and the Gamecocks defensive line.

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“I can tell Tajh Boyd is scared back there,” Clowney said. “He ain’t no sitting duck, but you can see in his eyes that he’s scared of our D-linemen.”

Clowney recorded a career-high 4.5 sacks in the regular-season finale against rival Clemson last season as the Gamecocks beat the Tigers 27-17 in Death Valley. Boyd threw two interceptions and was sacked six times in the game.

“We know that coming into the game that we have him shook already,” Clowney explained. “We get a couple hits on him and it changes the whole game. He’s scared every time we play them. I know he’s probably listening to this right now, but I’m just telling the truth, man.”

Clowney, who is a member of both the Lombardi and Bronko Nagurski watch lists this season, said he doesn’t taunt other players on the field other than to say, “Block me.” But the 6-foot-6, 247-pound athlete knows fear when he sees it in an opponent’s eyes. He said he saw it in Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray, former Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson and a third SEC quarterback he didn’t name.

“You can look at a guy and tell that he’s scared,” Clowney said. “If he’s staring at me before the ball is snapped and he’s staring at me every play before the ball is snapped, oh we got him. I tell the players that he’s shook.”

A likely top pick in the 2014 NFL draft, Clowney finished with 54 tackles in 2012, including a South Carolina record 23.5 for loss. The consensus All-American had 13 sacks on his way to being named the SEC’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Clowney also said Tuesday he ran a 4.46 in the 40-yard dash.

Equally important to coach Steve Spurrier: Clowney has avoided some of the pratfalls of that fame. He hasn’t made headlines for off-the-field troubles, unlike some of his peers.

“Jadeveon has done an excellent job staying out of the limelight all summer,” Spurrier said at Southeastern Conference media days. “He’s been a good teammate.

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“He’s been there for the workouts. He’s been there doing what he’s supposed to do.”

Clowney, who was sixth in the Heisman voting as a sophomore, shrugs off talk of being the rare defensive player to win the coveted prize this season. Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o finished second last season.

“That’s not really a goal for me,” said Clowney, whose table drew easily the biggest crowd of the day. “A goal for me is winning the SEC. That’s our biggest goal right now.”

He won the Hendricks Award as the nation’s top defensive end and joined George Rogers as the Gamecocks’ only unanimous All-Americans. Clowney has 21 sacks, 35.5 tackles for loss and eight forced fumbles in 13 career starts.

He also has The Hit.

Clowney, the SEC defensive player of the year, made one of last season’s signature plays. His hit on Michigan’s Vincent Smith drew millions of YouTube views after he knocked the runner on his back with a helmet-toppling smack, then reached out with one hand to snare the ball.

SEC quarterbacks took notice. So did much of college football.

“Have I seen it? Wasn’t it like the top play [on ESPN] for a couple of weeks?” Missouri quarterback James Franklin said. “Yes, sir. It was crazy just when he hit him and he has really long arms so when he reached out and picked the ball up, I thought he was about to run it back for a touchdown.”

Clowney had 1.5 sacks against the Tigers last season.

He had one against Florida, too. Gators coach Will Muschamp, a former defensive coordinator, has a preference over seeing a player from that side of the ball winning the Heisman.

“I’d like to see him come out early [for the NFL] before our game,” Muschamp said. “He’s an outstanding player. He’s a guy you better account for every snap. He’s an explosive guy.”

And he is definitely a defensive player. Not a two-way guy like Michigan cornerback Charles Woodson, who won the 1997 Heisman.

Spurrier was asked if there was a chance that Clowney could play on offense. His deadpan response: “Not really. We got a bunch of offensive players that are pretty good.”

Clowney said he had a quiet summer of keeping things simple and hanging out with his group of friends from high school.

His recent training table didn’t feature steak and potatoes but an old favorite after getting down to about 256 pounds.

“I picked up six pounds in two days the other day, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches all day,” Clowney said. “It was killing my throat. I had to drink a lot of water, but I ate like six peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and dinner.”

Next on the menu, he hopes: Opposing quarterbacks.

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